The Blaming of the Cows
by DarkPhoenixIncarnate
Summary: One-shot! Pearlnet! It's always easy enough to get her attention. "Pearl." And of course the other gem pauses mid step, glancing over her shoulder with a gentle, a-bit curious smile playing on her lips. "Yes, Garnet?" But...how to keep her distracted? (Set during "Too Far")


She foretold this.

Time is a river, she recalls once saying to a starry eyed, curious Steven. A river that flows into creeks, or pools into lakes, careening over waterfalls or rushing heedless into the roaring, eternal sea.

After millenia spent together as one Garnet has found that, when whole, her future vision is _stronger_ than Sapphires, sharper in clarity with more possible outcomes and a longer duration but, that increase in power is not without its drawbacks.

There are moments when the glimpses of those potential futures strike her at random, often disjointed or irrelevant, an image rushing forth without any context and some...some of them are _horrific._

In _this_ case, the random vision makes itself known as she looks out across rolling fields of green, surrounded by free-roaming cows that chew upon the grass and a young calf whose head she strokes absently. There is a sort of calming peace to be had here, wind gently brushing across her cheeks while all around her these large docile creatures go about their simple lives and Garnet finds that she is…content.

For a moment.

Then her third eye blinks open without her knowledge or consent and she feels her body stiffen, the soothing image that surrounds her fading away and in its place comes a vision of Amethyst laughing. So hard she doubles over, so hard she's almost _joyous,_ with tears brimming in her eyes but...

But. What has Garnet's breath catching is that this is happening in the _Kindergarten_ of all places. With _Peridot_ of all people laughing along with her, the leash that Pearl had suggested when all this began wrapped around her torso and-

The image fades away just as quickly as it came, leaving Garnet standing with wide eyes, parted lips and an impatient calf nudging at her palm for more petting. She takes a deep breath, tastes fresh cut grass in the air as focuses her thoughts, opens her eye, trying to force the vision back, to press it further but, instead all she sees are fields of grass, and cows.

So many cows.

She must have miscalculated.

Garnet isn't quite sure what she'd been expecting of their return but, Amethyst is in no way smiling. Instead her jaw is tight, her shoulders set and every step she takes screams of tension. However it is a powerful indication of her increasing maturity that she does not project her emotions onto them, that she continues going about her work without complaint, even managing to smile for Pearl.

And yet, at the same time when her eyes meet Peridot's own her shoulders drop, and for a split second something like _defeat_ echoes across her expression.

Garnets stomach twists, and she can almost taste her guilt as she gnaws at the stalk of wheat grass between her teeth, Perhaps she acted too hastily. Perhaps she put too much trust in her intuition which had all but screamed at her that this glimpse of the future _needed_ to come to pass, that its outcome would lead to something potentially positive but, she had been _wrong_.

And now Amethyst is paying the price for her failure.

She sits atop a hay bale, crosses her arms over her chest and flinches as she hears Peridot's voice screaming obscenities, rolling her eyes at the temper tantrum and thinking absently on the little green gem, on Amethyst, _Kindergarten_ . And then, for a very brief moment she sees the drill activating, can hear that shrill voice both crying out Amethysts name with _concern,_ and then apologizing to her with _contrition._

This time she clenches her fists, focuses with all she is on the vision and when the entirety of it plays out before her, she finds the tiniest hint of a smile creeping onto her lips.

Her intuition _had_ been right, she _knew_ it.

Garnet crosses one leg over the other, leans back against the barn, chews on the small stalk of wheat grass to keep herself from smirking, and waits.

It's when Peridot finally begins approaching the drill with Steven trailing behind her and incoherent grumbles sounding under her breath does Garnet stand, stepping into the barn.

Pearl approaches the door, passing her with arms full of various tools, nuts, bolts, sheets of metal and it is no question that if Pearl were to leave the barn now, the future she'd seen so clearly would not come to pass. Her reflexes are too quick, her movements too precise, she'd manage to either pull Amethyst away in time, or stop the drill from activating in the first place. Thus leaving a powerful lesson unlearned and she's not about to let that happen.

It's always easy enough to get her attention. "Pearl." And of course the other gem pauses mid step and glances over her shoulder with a gentle, a-bit curious smile playing on her lips. "Yes, Garnet?"

But...how to _keep_ her distracted? One possibility is to ask about the progress of the drill but, in that case Pearls preference would be to walk as she speaks, or perhaps even demonstrate her progress with, considering how eager she is to complete it. However it is imperative that she stay in the barn, at least long enough to ensure that she cannot interfere.

The air catches in her chest as a thought strikes her, and she's turning to face Pearl, the pulse of her gems spiking in anticipation and this time she does not bother hiding the smirk that comes to her lips "About those cows..."

Pearl raises an eyebrow as she takes a step closer, head tilted to the side in confusion. "I...What? What about the- _Ah!_ "

Her waist is _so small_ , she cannot help but think, every time Garnet does this she finds that she is struck with just how _light_ Pearl is. All of the tools and metal that had once been held tight in thin arms begin clattering to the ground as she lifts the smaller gem, and in two quick strides she has Pearl pressed against the nearest wall, well out of sight from the open door.

"G-Garnet?!" That voice is all air, warm breath brushing across her face as she leans in closer, lets one hand rise to cup a burning cheek. " _Pearl."_ And when she _kisses_ her, those sharp blue eyes grow impossibly wider for the briefest of seconds, before she feels that thin body relax against her, nimble fingers rising to tangle in her hair, grip at her back. She moves in closer, the whole of her body pushed against Pearls as she gives everything she has to the kiss, skin heated and a low moan vibrating in her throat when Pearl eagerly parts her lips, thin legs wrapping around her waist, trying desperately to pull her in closer and she's gripping onto the back of Pearl's thighs, holding the smaller gem steady against the wall as their tongues slide together, as her lips tingle with the taste of her and she can _feel_ Pearl's body begin to tremble against hers, the heat of her flush radiating off of her skin.

And Garnet isn't quite sure if she forgets exactly where they are or if she stops caring because those soft lips are so warm, so wanting and _desperate_ and they haven't done this in _so long,_ hadn't realized how much she missedit until she's sliding her hand up a trembling thigh, fingers beginning to nudge under yellow fabric while Pearl's nails dig into her back, grip her hair tighter, spine arching _,_ and the whimper of anticipation that vibrates against her lips is so utterly _intoxicating_ that she's all but lost herself to the electricity that shoots up her spine when-

" _Amethyst!_ "

 _That_ has Pearl pulling away from their kiss with a gasp, eyes wide and chest heaving, cheeks consumed with blue and those swollen, wet lips parted as the sound of the drill ripping through Earth finally registers.

Pearl inhales sharply, concern bright in her eyes and Garnet pulls away reluctantly, gently setting the smaller gem down onto trembling legs and when they hear Steven crying out in alarm atop the drill, Pearl's answering cry of his name has Garnet flinching, their kiss seemingly forgotten as they rush out of the barn.

Sitting again atop the bundle of hay, she fights to ignore the heat that stubbornly persists pulsing through her. She crosses her arms, her legs, tightly, tongue once again dragging over the slightly jagged edge of wheat grass as Pearl's shout echoes across the clearing, her cheeks still flushed blue, breaths still heavy.

Garnet does her best not to smirk. "I blame the cows."


End file.
